


X O X O

by zenexit



Category: Show By Rock!! (Anime)
Genre: BL stands for bug love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Unrequited Love, dropout sensei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 18:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5058439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenexit/pseuds/zenexit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“The wonderful magic of the song that encourages me,” Tatsuya began, his heart feeling like it had dropped down to his hands, a steady base line beside him pumping his pulse along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	X O X O

**Author's Note:**

> I used all of the XOXO translation in this song for plot purposes, and I tried to make sure my own original word count outnumbered it, but I'm sorry if it's a little grating to read. I enjoy the writing of this song a lot however, and I feel like it fits the feeling behind this ship a lot.
> 
> Credit for the translation I used can be found here: http://kuwagatatsuya.tumblr.com/private/118462200692/tumblr_no1pwdeic81qgpf21
> 
> this fic overall feels a little short to me and i want to write more dropout sensei in the future. im surprised they dont have more fic content.

Kuwagatatsuya gripped his pants tightly, his eyes firmly closed. The noise around him in the backstage area made his ears feel like they were ringing. Tatsuya clenched and unclenched his hands in the black fabric, hoping the clamminess in his hands would rub off against the dark material. Tonight was the night of the school battle of the bands. Several other groups of guys were competing and although Tatsuya knew Dropout Sensei was ready, he couldn't fight down the feeling of cotton shoved under his tongue. His entire mouth felt swollen and dry and speaking, let alone signing, sounded like the worst idea he could think of.

"Is this because of that girl?" 

The noise in Tatsuya’s ears drained out, the sounds of people moving backstage, the stir of the audience, the band on stage all zoning out. Focusing in instead on what Kabutomoaki was saying right next to him. 

He did a soft 'tch' in response and swallowed nervously.

"She might be out there, it seems like lots of girls are." Tomoaki said, quieter this time. 

'You're right here.' Tatsuya kept quietly to himself.

"That doesn't help me..." Tatsuya mumbled in response. What Tomoaki was saying to him, in all honesty, wasn't relevant to what he was feeling right now. 

“We’re good performers. You’re a good singer, and we both know how hard Mutsumi has worked.” There was a twinge of affection in Tomoaki’s voice and Tatsuya’s eyes closed even tighter behind his glasses. 

“We’ve got this.” Tatsuya said with finality.

“Senpai, is everything okay?” Mutsumi had come back from the table where he had grabbed his water and Tatsuya could only imagine the concern in the younger boy’s eyes. It was audible in the way Mutsumi  
talked how he always felt. It was refreshing to be around a person who was so open about how he felt. However, sometimes it also made Tatsuya feel like screaming. Tomoaki was a quiet gloomy type of guy, and having spent so much of his time with him, Tatsuya forget a lot that when it came to personal relationships not everyone was like him. 

“It’s all good.” Tatsuya replied, finally opening his eyes. He focused them ahead, looking through the small space he could see past the curtain. It looked like the band before them was now finishing up, the song hitting it’s cool down period, the last few soulful notes being sung. 

It was soul that Tatsuya understood the best in music. That he had learned was the easiest thing for him to express with his singing. It was also easy to sing about unrequited love when you had spent every day feeling it.

The audience broke out into applause and the band on stage took a moment to bask in it, bowing slightly and pausing before moving off the stage. As they exited they passed right by Tatsuya and he could feel their excitement buzzing inside of his veins. It wouldn’t do to be nervous at all about this, he had to feel this excitement, this passion, and bring it onto the stage. 

“Aaaaand next up to the stage, Dropout Sensei!” An announcer’s voice cried out excitedly. 

“Alright guys, let’s kill this!” Tatsuya said turning to his band mates. Tomoaki and Mutsumi nodded in response. Mutsumi was clutching his drumsticks tightly, eyes looking determined. Even Tomoaki’s dreamy eyes looked focused. When he noticed Tatsuya looking at him still he paused for a moment before smiling slightly. 

The band moved onto the stage, Tatsuya grabbing the mic and the guitar already set up. They took a moment to pause and all get adjusted to the stage. The crowd was cheering, and Tatsuya knew most of it was out of politeness, the rest out of the crowd’s energy was still pumped up from the other bands. East MIDI tech city high school was a large one, and although it was just boys, the music was still just as important. 

“Hey,” Tatsuya paused as the crowd erupted once more. He was grateful for the stage lights shining on them, making the crowd hard to see. He knew Tomoaki thought he felt the opposite, his childhood friend expecting him to be trying to scan the crowd for some girl who didn’t exist. 

“We’re Dropout Sensei, and this is XOXO.” 

The music started up after that and the crowd cheered again and Tatsuya let them drift away, his focus sharpening on the guitar in his hands and the words he knew he had to feel.

“The wonderful magic of the song that encourages me,” Tatsuya began, his heart feeling like it had dropped down to his hands, a steady base line beside him pumping his pulse along.

“The rhythm that spills out of the letter paper with a sweet smell,” The blood kept pumping along, everything gone now except for the feeling of a warm light and the unquestionable trust that every note would be hit and taken care of. It was very manly, Tatsuya had decided at the start of the band, to stand up here the way he was with his friends and play music the way they did. It was his favorite thing in the entire world. 

“Please go meet other people, please share what you seem to have given to me.” It was those lines that Tomoaki had wrote that always made Tatsuya feel like his heart was on fire. Tatsuya wanted, more than anything, then for Tomoaki to share those small pieces of himself, the ones that no one saw in him but Tatsuya and Mutsumi. Everyone would cherish those pieces just as much if they could see them too.

“From the day I clenched back your hand, I have changed. Your singing voice is repeating inside me, the person’s shed tears and the melody they made. I can see a new future, it’s shining brightly and appears in my eyes, from the day I clenched back your hand, I have changed.” Tatsuya could feel it all coming out in the song, letting everything go, his fingers sliding along the guitar. It was different feeling than the one he had at his house and wondered for a moment if it really sounded the same. But, there wasn’t time to compare sounds.

“Hello, are you here? Hello, be there” Tatsuya paused before going into the final verse of the song. “From the day I clenched back your hand, I have changed. That night I have clenched back your hand,we have changed.”

The crowd erupted into loud applause and Tatsuya felt like he had been woken from a dream. A glance told Tatsuya that Tomoaki was staring out into the crowd, looking at the sea of people applauding them, applauding their music. Tatsuya wanted to laugh and say told you so, that Tomoaki’s lyrics let them show the passion behind their music, to communicate what it really meant in their hearts. But… There was something in the way those eyes stared out that told Tatsuya to hold it in, to wait until Tomoaki was done searching out there for whatever it was he was looking for.

Dropout Sensei launched into its second song for the night, Give Back The Girl. It was a high energy song to end the set with, and Tatsuya knew it would get the crowd even more excited. It also really showed off Mutsumi’s ability on the drums. 

When the song was over and the crowd applauded the three took a moment to bow and enjoy it before moving off stage.

“I really think we did well!!” Mutsumi said excitedly as they walked off. 

“B-but, do you think they liked it…?” He asked hesitantly, looking at Tomoaki and Tatsuya, waiting for them to say something.

“Of course they did, you heard that applause right?” Tatsuya responded just as enthusiastically. “We looked so awesome up there!” 

“I’m glad your nerves are gone.” Tomoaki said with a small laugh.

“What?!” Tatsuya twisted to look at him.

“Do you think that girl was here?” Tomoaki mused in response. “You were thinking about that earlier and it made you nervous. Are you sure she enjoyed the set now?” 

Tatsuya felt his heart stall in response. Had that been what Tomoaki was looking for earlier? Why did he care? Was he really that worried this girl would affect his performance?

“I wonder if she did…” Tatsuya replied quietly, feeling some of his fire drain out and became suddenly aware of his hands. What the hell did people do with hands when they were just standing there? Did they put them in their pockets or was that trying too hard to look cool? 

“I’m sure she loved it, we were amazing.” Tomoaki said confidently. 

She’s not real. Tatsuya thought to himself.

“I wonder if we’ll win!?!” Mutsumi said quickly and Tatsuya let himself focus back in on his friend. 

“Yeah, me too.”


End file.
